Correction
Soon after publication the authors were made aware of an error within Table 3 of the original publication. The example given as the ‘Scientist’ term ‘Citizen scientist, Scientist-citizen, public scientist, community scientist’ previously read: “Citizen scientists investigated anecdotal evidence to construct hypotheses regarding developmental disorders that members of the public claimed were triggered by a MMR vaccine.”
Table 3
Terms describing scientists who work with citizens in ‘citizen science.’
| ‘Scientist’ term | Definition | Example | Caveat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citizen scientist, Scientist-citizen, public scientist, community scientist | Individual with formal science training who is actively engaged in the civic sphere and wants their work to both serve the greater good and do so transparently (Stilgoe 2009) | Citizen scientists investigated anecdotal evidence to construct hypotheses regarding developmental disorders that members of the public claimed were triggered by chemical pollution (Stilgoe 2009). Members of Union of Concerned Scientists’ Science Network (http://www.ucsusa.org/science-network) | ‘Citizen Scientist’ is easily confused with more common meaning of public involvement in science |
| Civic educators | Individual who provides information and/or creates educational opportunities for others with the purpose of building a path for greater civic engagement | Researchers, teachers, scientists, issue advocates, journalists, reporters and political campaigners (Ceccaroni et al. 2016) | Closely associated with democratic values, inherently politically laden |
| Commercial | Individual trained in science with the goal of creating products for profit | Commercial fisher, Commercial scientist | Incentivized by financial profit, rather than ‘knowledge for the sake of knowledge’ |
| Credentialed, Trained, Educated | Individual with formal scientific degrees and training | Faculty member at a university | Reinforces the value of formal scientific education |
| Elite | Individual with experience and/or privilege not shared by the general public | Only elite scientists may serve in some peer-review processes or are considered for tenure or funding | Typically excludes the general public, early-career scientists, and minorities; many scientists strive not to be elitist |
| Institutional, Academic, Laboratory | Individual employed by or affiliated with an academic institution, agency, company, or non-governmental organization | Tenured professor, Government scientist, Laboratory technician, Student | Scientists may not be affiliated with an institution or may not work in a laboratory |
| Professional, Paid, Employed | Individual working in a scientific occupation, profession, or holding a position for which they are paid | White collar professional, Professor, Employee | Some scientists may conduct participatory projects outside paid time |
| Researcher | Individual investigating a specific and identified scientific question | Research scientist, Research ecologist | Researchers are often interpreted strictly as academics |
| Scientist-activist | Individual with formal science training who applies their expertise to political agendas | Internationally, thousands of scientists participated in a “March for Science” on April 22, 2017 to show support for evidence-based policies in government | Can be perceived as having shed the ‘objectivity’ of science |
| Volunteer Scientist | An individual who is not paid for their participation in scientific pursuits | Graduate students | Implies that scientist is inexperienced or not worth formally hiring |
This should have read: “Citizen scientists investigated anecdotal evidence to construct hypotheses regarding developmental disorders that members of the public claimed were triggered by chemical pollution.”
The corrected Table 3 is presented here.